Construction and repair of railroad cars



er l

ye TURNEVQ'Y.

June 26, 1923.

Patented Hxlune 26, i923.,

narra arrives ANDREW M.` MCGILL, 0F BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.

CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR OF RAILROAD CARS.

Application filed March 15, 1922.

To all 'whom t may (fo/acera:

Be it known that l, ANDREW M. lille/Ginn. a citizen of the United States, and a resi dent oi Bethlehen'l, borough ci? Fountain lrl'ill, in the county oi Lehigh and State of lennsylvania. have made and invented certain ne f' and useiiul Improvements in the Construction and Repair ot Railroad Cars, ot which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the construction and repair oit railroad. cars, and. particularly to rc'rigerz-itor cars, milk cars, and other types ot vertically sheathed wooden cars.

The underiramino; or sills oit a wooden car in time rot and decay, requiring that the sheathing be removed. and. the underiraming be either repaired or replaced.. The decaying' and rotting;` oi the sills and underframes and lower portion of the sheathing' talre place particularly rapidly in refrisrer ator cars and milk` cars, and the removal ot the entire sheathing, repair of the underiraming, and renewalv oft the sheathing in.- volveI an enormous amountoif labor and expense annually to the railroads.

lt is accordinglyan object of my invention to provide a method whereby the underframing or sills of the car may be renewed without requiring the removal of' the entire sheathing, thus involving the saving of the majority oit' the car sheathing. j

A further object is to provide a const-ruction and method for the repair or renewal oi the underiraming'.orfsills of a railroad (gar which may be @asily and readily carried out, involving but a small amount ot labor and iequiring;r the use ot a minimum amount. of raw material or sheathing.

A.. further object to provide an improved method for removing the lower portion only of the sheathing so as to expose the under framing or sills and thus provide for the easy and ready `replacement or renewal ot the underframing, after which the removed portion of the sheathing: may be replaced by new sheathing. and to provide in connection with suchmethod a means "for preventing; water `trom entering between the joined sections oi` the sheathing.

a further object is to provide a car construction which .may be applied to a car in the initial building, whereby theA sheathing: is divided into a main and upper portion. and a supplemental lower portion, the latter being readily removable so as to expose the Serial No. 543,998.

und erframing and allow for its ready repair and renewal.

A further object is to accomplish the aforementioned ends in a simple and eXpedltious manner and to provide a particular form 'oli metal v[lashing which will prevent any entrance ot' moisture between the joints or the abutting ends of the sheathing and thus form a watertight and lasting construction.

With the foregoing and; other objects in view, my, invention consists in the improved method of construction and repair ot rail road cars illustrated in the accompanying drawing and hereinafter described and claimed.r and in such variations and modifications thereof as will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which `my invention relates. it being unfderstoodthat changes may be ma de within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit' of the invention.

ln the accompanyingr drawings: A i

Figure l is a view in transverse section ot a vertically sheathed wooden car and illus- Atrating by dotted lines the manner in which the lower ends of the sheathing are c ut or separated so as to be removed tor thevexposine'r and removiingr of the underframine or side sills of the car;

Figure 2 is a view in perspective and, parH tially in section ot' a cark after having been repaired by my improved method `or representingr` the construction of a new car which embodies the characteristic features of my invention Figure 3 is a detail view in transverse section illustrating the juncture between the abutting extremities of the ends of the upper and unreinoved portion of the sheathing and. the lower and replaced sheathing, the juncture being' such that all. moisture is prevented Jfrom entering therein; and

Figure 4 is a detail view in transverse section ot a somewhat modified form ofcar blocking strip which aids in holdingr the abutting ends ot the sheathing in place and to which the sheathing is nailed. i

Referring specifically to the several views, wherein similar 'reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout, the side sill or underiiraming 10 of a vertically sheathed woodenV car in time decays and rots, this action being particularly rapid when the car is used. asl a refrigerator" or` milk car. In order to provide for the ready removal and replacement of the underframing r side sills 10 and to effectually carry this out without necessitating the entire removal of the sheathing S, as has heretofore been customary, I preferably attach to the lower portion 11 of the sheathing a straight edge or cleat 12 which serves vas a guide platform for a motor driven circular saw 13 which is moved along the side of the car, preferably about twenty inches above the lower extremity of the sheathing, and thus severs or cuts the vertical sheathing along the line 14, the saw being placed at anv angle to the horizontal so that the slot -14 extends inwardly and upwardly and isl located directly in front of one of the beamsor stringere 15 which extend along the side walls of the car.

The sheathing is thus severed and divided into a main and upper section 16 and al smaller and lower section 11. The straight edge or cleat 12 is then removed and the lower section of the sheathing torn from the car body in any convenient manner so as to expose the decayed or rotted side sill or underframing 10. The decayed or rotted underframing is then removed and a new underframing or sill inserted in place. After the repair of the underframing has been f thus carried out, a metal flashing such as shown in detail in Figure 3 is inserted between the lower extremities vof 'the upper portion of the 'sheathing 16 and the stringer This metal flashing is preferably comt posed of a iiange 17, a downwardly and outwardly extending inclined body portion 18, and an exposed outer plate or flange 19. With the metal flashing thus in place, a new lower sheathing section 11 is cut along its upper edge at an angle or bevel so as to t snugly against the inclined body portion. 18 of the flashing. The sheathing is then firmly nailed in place to the underframing -in the customary manner, and the flashing is also'secured in place by the nails or holding means 20. The lowermost edge of the sheathing 11 is then cut or trimmed by means ofthe circular saw 13 which is moved downwardly toy accomplish this particular purpose. In the majority of instances wherein ythe underframing or side sill of a car has decayed or rotted, it has been found thatV the lower ends of the sheathing. are also 'decayed or rotted, so that the replacementl of the lower ends vof the sheathing is necessary and is carried out without requiringtherenioval `or replacement of the upper and-main portion ofthe sheathing. Y

From theforegoing itr will be readily ap preciated that my improved' method of car repair andcar construction will result in a vastfsaving to the railroads, especially when y the vast `number of cars yof this particular type which are in use are considered. Those cars which are used for the transportation of liquid, such as milk or refrigerator cars, are particularly liable to rot and decay in a comparatively short time, so that their frequent repair is necessary. With my iinproved method, the larger and undecayed portion of the sheathing is thus saved, and, further, the entire repair can be carried out with a minimum amount of labor and trouble,

My improved car construction can be followed out in the initial building of the car as illustrated in Figure 2. The car shown in Figure 2 is what is known as a milk car and comprises the usual side sill or underframing 21 and is provided with a blocking or nailing strip 22. The sheathing S is divided into a permanent and upper main section 23 and a smaller and lower removable section 24, the two sections abutting and being secured together at the metal flashing 25 which extends longitudinally of the car sides. With the car as thus initially oonstructed, the underframing may be readily exposed for repair or renewal by removing the lower section of the sheathing and after the repairs have been carried out a new lower section of sheathing may be economically inserted in place.

In some instances I have found it desir able to provide a somewhat modied form of blocking or Stringer, sometimes termed a nailingstrip, such as illustrated in Figure 4, the strip in question being provided with an outwardly projecting portion having the upper inclined ledge 28 and lower routed out portion 29, thus providing for the reception and securement of the ends 30 and 31 of the upperand lower sections of the sheathing, respectively, and for the proper nesting of the metal iiashing thereagainst. The downwardly extending body of the metal flashing, together with the iiange -1'?, eflectually prevents any water from seeping in between the abutting ends of the sheathing and thus provides for the long and serviceable life of the car.

Having thus described and explained my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The method vof car repair consisting in cutting the sheathing longitudinally of the car on an angle extending downwardly and outwardly, removing. the lower so-formed section of the sheathing for the exposing of the sill, repairing or renewing the sill, re-

placing or renewing the removed sheathing, the upper ends of the replaced sheathing being cut at an angle similar to the laforeinentioned cut in the sheathing.

2. The method of car repair consisting in cutting the sheathing longitudinally of the car on an angle extending downwardly and outwardly, removing the lower so-formed section of the sheathing for the exposing of the sill, repairing or renewing the sill, replacing or renewing the removed sheathing, the upper ends of the replaced sheathing being cut at an angle similar' to the aforementioned cut in the sheathing, and placing a metal flashing between the abutting extremities of the sheathing sections for the protection thereof.

3. The method of repair' olf vertically sheathed wooden cars consisting in placing a straight edge or cleat longitudinally along the car body a slight distance above the lower ends of the sheathing, moving a cutting saw along said car body guided by said straight edge or cleat, and severing the sheathing so as to divide the same into an upper and main section and a lower supplemental section, removing the so-.tormed lower supplemental section of the sheathing and exposing the underframing or sills oli' the car, repairing or renewing the underi'raming' or sills, and replacing or renewing the lower section of the sheathing'.

l. rlhe method of repair `of vertically sheathed wooden cars consisting in placing a straight edge or cleat longitudinally along the car body a slight distance above the lower ends of the sheathing, moving a cutting saw along said car body guided by said straight edge or cleat, severing the sheathing so as to divide the same into an upper and main section and a lower supplemental section, removing the so-ormed lower supplemental section of the sheathing and exposing the underframing or sills of the car, repairing or renewing the underframing or sills, replacing or renewing the lower' section of the sheathing, and placing a metal flashing between the abutting extremities of the upper and lower' sections of the sheathing.`

5. The method of repair oit vertically sheathed railroad cars consisting in placing a straight edge or cleat longitudinally along the body of the car and spaced a slight distance above the lower extremity ol the sheathing, moving a cutting saw along said car body guided by said cleats, and severing the sheathing at an angle extending upwardly and inwardly and thus dividing the sheathing into an upper main section and a lower ysuppleniental section, removing the lower supplemental section and exposing the undei'framing or sills of the car, repairing or renewing the underfraniing or sills, placing a metal fiashing adjacent the lower extremity of the upper section of the sheathing and replacing or renewing the lower sheathing section and placing the upper extremity thereof in contact with said metal flashing for the protection of the abutting extremities of the sheathing sections.

6. A car construction comprising sheathing' formed in upper and lower sections, the abutting extremities thereof being cut or formed along an angle extending downwardly'and outwardly from the car, and a metal flashing extending between the abutting ends of the upper' and lower sections ol' the sheathing.

Signed at Bethlehem, borough of Fountain Hill, in the county of Lehigh and State of Penna., this 23rd day of January, A. D.

ANDREW M. MCGILL. Witnesses FRANK N. Hinrrs, WILLIAM I. CANTLEY. 

